Facilities
The Behavioral Neurophysiology Laboratory (BNL Lab) is in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. The BNL is designed for state-of-the-art psychophysiological and neuroimaging research on behaviorally-mediated changes in physiology in the context of physical health and well-being. Two isolated subject chambers are accessible from a central laboratory; both allow for recording peripheral physiology from several subjects simultaneously, including closed circuit visual monitoring and recording. The BNL houses two BioNex 8SLT chassis assemblies; BioNex impedance, tranducer, and voltage modules; a GE Medical CARESCAPE V100 blood pressure monitor; a CNAP® Monitor 500 and a Finapress® for continuous blood pressure monitoring. The lab is outfitted with MindWare signal conditioning and analysis software systems for respiratory, EKG, photoplethysmograph, and blood pressure data. The lab is also outfitted with Behringer Powered Studio Monitors and Sony Pan/Tilt/Zoom Network Color Cameras for the collection and digitization of audiovisual data and integration of these data with physiological measures.
The BNL is physically located on the 4th and 5th floors of Old Engineering Hall, and it is fully equipped to conduct high volume neuroimaging analyses and data management. It is currently processing imaging data for over 1000 subjects tested as part of four studies funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Lab and office space includes 3 separate 1-4 person offices surrounding an enclosed meeting room. The neuroimaging analysis resources include 12 Macintosh workstations, connected on a local area network to a Dell server.